Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Anatomy of a Scandal.From show creators/executive producers/writers David E. Kelley & Melissa James Gibson and director S.J. Clarkson, the Netflix drama series Anatomy of a Scandal is based on the best-selling novel by Sarah Vaughan and tells the story of James Whitehouse (Rupert Friend), a Minister in Parliament whose privilege helped propel him to the position of power he’s in. When a scandalous secret comes to light, it tests his wife Sophie’s (Sienna Miller) loyalty to her family and husband and leaves it up to the court to decide the truth.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Michelle Dockery (who plays Kate Woodcroft, a criminal barrister known for prosecuting sexual crimes that has taken on the Whitehouse case) and Naomi Scott (who plays Olivia, a House of Commons employee that works for Whitehouse) talked about why this project appealed to them, the respectful atmosphere on set, the challenge of shooting the long courtroom scenes, the logistics of shooting flashbacks intertwined with the present, and the very British reaction Dockery had to learning about the story’s big twist.
Collider: This show is a wild rollercoaster, where you get very caught up in the twists and turns and surprises of the story. Because this is such challenging and difficult material, what made you guys want to do this project? From an actor’s perspective, is this kind of work and this kind of challenge fun to do, especially when you can just leave it at work and go home for the day?
MICHELLE DOCKERY: Yeah. I absolutely loved the scripts, when I first read them. I loved the novel. I thought it was a fantastic story, a really powerful one. And also, the character was a challenge. It was a welcome challenge. I was really excited to play a barrister, and to also be part of a David E. Kelley drama, who I’m such a fan of.
NAOMI SCOTT: Yeah, same. I’d binge read the scripts, saw everyone involved, and was like, “Yes, please.” I thought the character was really interesting. It’s complex, what she’s going through. It was just a challenge that I really, really wanted to take on.
What was the atmosphere on this set like? When you do material like this, is there just more weight to it on set, in general, or do you intentionally try to lighten the mood when you’re not shooting?
DOCKERY: There is definitely more weight on set, with subject matter like this, so it is important to find a bit of a balance, at times. There are intense scenes, particularly those courtroom scenes. Naomi and I, at one point, have to do a 38-page dialogue scene. So, you do have to have moments of taking a breath and perhaps sometimes distracting yourself, to then reserve your energy to go back in again. Each time, it’s a challenge. And of course, for Naomi, it’s emotional. Everyone was really respectful of that. On most sets, there’s an awareness that, if somebody is about to do a really emotional scene and moment, everybody really quiets down and there’s a sensitive atmosphere in the room. It was interesting because, when Naomi first walked onto the stand, you could hear a pin drop, even just at the first rehearsal. It gave you a real idea of perhaps what it would feel like in a real courtroom, in those moments. It must be terrifying for someone to walk into a space full of a jury and people that don’t know. And Naomi and I became very close because we lean on each other. Kate’s there to support Olivia, so we lent on each other off-set, too.
SCOTT: The actors who were in the jury were actually really amazing, and I remember S.J. just being so happy with their performance. It really did feel like this collaboration of everyone in the room, wanting to really do this justice, which was really, really great. As Michelle said, it was nerve-wracking, walking in. I’m an actress. I’m doing the best that I can in this role. I can’t imagine what that’s actually like. Olivia is having to relay all this trauma to a bunch of people who are judging whether she’s even telling the truth. And yes, they were long scenes. We shot it like a play, pretty much. It was 15-minute long scenes. We did the whole thing, and that could get quite taxing, for sure. We had to watch some funny YouTube clips in between. We watched anything with dogs. If I watch dog videos, I’m good to go.
Naomi, what was it like to shoot the moments in the courtroom that go back and forth between you sitting on the stand, and then being in the elevator? As the audience, we see the flashback to that sex scene while you’re giving your testimony, but I’ve never seen anything shot like that. What was that like to do?
SCOTT: It was funny because sometimes it can feel really strange when you’re saying a line in the past, but you’re actually in the present. With some of these tools that S.J. was using, she would be like, “I know this is gonna feel really weird, but you’re gonna look up there, and then you’re gonna whip your head, and you’re gonna say the line.” She knew exactly what she was doing. She had such a vision for this. Even though some things felt strange, I think it just really worked well. There’s that point where I walk from the lift onto the stand, from the moment, and I think that’s a really good metaphor for when you’re reliving a traumatic moment, and it puts you right back in that place. I think that tool really worked well in the series. It all made sense, of course, when I saw it, even though me and Rupert [Friend] were laughing and going, “What are we doing, whipping our heads here and there?”
What was it like for you guys to learn the twist in this? What went through your head, when you realized what the twist of this is?
DOCKERY: To be honest, when I first read the scripts, up until Episode 4 when the twist is revealed, I really liked the character. I really liked Kate, but I was thinking, “Where is this going?,” because it felt a little two-dimensional to begin with. And then, that twist happens, and you’re like, “Oh, okay, this is who she is.” I was shocked, when I read it in the script. My tea went everywhere. I was like, “Oh, my God, she’s Holly!”
SCOTT: You’ve never heard anything so British.
DOCKERY: Hopefully, that’s how the audience will react when they see it.
You have to have an involuntary verbal reaction, in that moment. It's impossible not to.
DOCKERY: Or spill the tea. It’s a great moment. We live for those moments in television, with the twists. It’s great. It’s so entertaining, that type of story U-turn.
Did you guys think at all about what you would like to see happen to James Whitehouse, at some point? This story is left in such an interesting place, where it feels like there are still more things to come for him, so what do you hope happens to him, after this?
DOCKERY: It feels that the truth will out, eventually. I think that saying is a good one. In this case, that’s about to happen. If this continues onto another series, it feels like, at some point, he will get what he deserves, from my character’s perspective, of course. There’s definitely an afterlife, whether that actually does become something that you can see, where the characters live on. There isn’t just a huge full stop at the end that’s neatly tied up. There’s a continuation, which is really interesting.
Anatomy of a Scandal is now available to stream at Netflix.